Starter Homes For All and Cassa's Pearly Whites

Liberty Harbor Townhome Exterior - The New Starter Home

The sun is shining (or at least it was this morning), the weather is mild and things seem to be looking up. The New York Times published a story with economic signs that indicate we are “at the bottom.” In the article Barry Ritholtz, Professional Investor and writer of the user-friendly econ blog “The Big Picture,” (http://www.ritholtz.com/) suggests that we have hit bottom when a young couple earning two modest incomes can qualify for a mortgage and afford to purchase a two-or three-bedroom starter home in a middle – income neighborhood. This is wonderful news, particularly because that is just what we are starting to see. Take the breathtaking waterfront super community Liberty Harbor located in Jersey City (http://www.libertyharbor.com/). Made up of a mixture of townhomes, condos, and rental buildings this behemoth of a development provides a range of prices and living options designed to appeal to many segments of the market - and it did; achieving a respectable 90% sold before the market tanked. What’s happening at Liberty Harbor now is extremely interesting. People who bought the smaller, less costly homes are returning to the sales office interested in moving up to larger homes. Their families are growing, they need more space for a home office, they just adopted a Great Dane - whatever the reason, they love Liberty Harbor and now have the opportunity to afford a bigger home – a true starter home, and not just the one bedroom they have been squishing into. It’s a beautiful thing. And it’s very similar to what Barry told us to look out for. People who were priced out of the homes they wanted now have the opportunity to buy their dream homes, or at least their starter dream homes.

The other thing that is making me particularly happy today is that http://www.curbed.com/ came through with another great Cassa posting. Yes you snarky curbed real estate bloggers – I applaud you. As I may have mentioned before, Cassa World Condominium Residences and Hotel (http://www.cassanyc.com/) will soon be throwing its hat into the condo market ring and I am part of the team responsible for its dramatic entrance. Thanks again guys for this sneaky feeling post http://curbed.com/archives/2009/03/10/in_your_face_sneak_preview_of_cassa_nys_pearly_whites.php